Shoulder rest for violins



y 1956 E. M. GOLDBERGER SHOULDER REST FOR VIOLINS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 9, 1952 y 29, 1956 E. M. GOLDBERGER SHOULDER REST FOR VIOLINS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 9, 1952 United States Patent SHOULDER REST FOR *VIOLINS Ernii'Meir Goldberger, Givat Rambam, near Tel Aviv, Israel .ApplicationDecember 9, 1952,'Serial No. 324,952

Claims priority, application Switzerland 0ct0ber 22, 1952 Claims. (Cl. i 84-280) This invention'relatesto shoulder rests for violins, of

-the kind comprising a relatively stiff yet flexible plate to each oftheopposite ends'of which is secured a clamp and one of saidfingers, respectively, and'extending in a 'plane perpendicular to that of the plate.

A shoulderrest of such type has been describedin U. S.

"PatentNo.i2',522,944 of September 19, 1950, and inmy name. Said earlier construction, already much superior to other shoulder rests of prior art, does not yet afford that degree'of certainty to 'thevi'olinists which 'he must claim for holding his instrument in the presecribed position solely by means of his chin and his shoulder With out fatigue while, at the same time, giving his left hand all its liberty of action.

My present invention constitutes a real .progress in this 'latter direction. According to my present invention; those of said sections which belong to said first resilient. structure of each clamp, are situated substantially in'the'prolongati'on of the longitudinal axis of the plate, while those of said sections which belong to the second structure, of each clamp, are disposed at a sufficiently large spacing from those of the first one'so that the fingersformed by some of saidsections engage the violin body on both :sides of aplane passing through the widest portions of this body.

:In a preferred form of mypresentinvention,=each-' of said sections. providing a finger presents, at its rightv'angled transition into the adjacent section, a face adapted to bear constantly on the outer side of the lower rim of the violin body. In such preferred form, the stiffness of each resilient structure and of the connection of this structure to the plate is sufliciently great so that during the elastic flexure of the latter, produced by the reaction of the violinists shoulder, the entire angular movement of the plate ends is transmitted to said fingers so that the latter are disengaged from the violin body, while the said bearing faces remain engaged to the lower rim of the violin body.

The later thus may vibrate freely, and its quality of sound is no longer impaired. If the plate presents to the violin a smooth surface which reflects the sound, the quality of sound of the assembly comprising instrument and shoulder rest, is even better than that of the instrument alone.

Two forms of my present invention are shown, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a bottom view of the first form of shoulder rest and of a portion of the violin to which the rest is adapted,

Fig. 2 is an elevation seen in direction of the arrow II of Fig. 1,

2,747,452 Patented May 259, 1956 '2 Fig. 3 is an'elevation of a detail of Fig. 2 in larger scale,

Fig. 4 is a bottom view of the second form of shoulder rest,

Fig. 5 is'aside viewof the latter, showing in particular one of theLtwo clamps forming two attaching structures .example of a piece of velvet-covered wood, is affixed to plate.1 by means of screws 3.

To each of the opposite ends of plate 1 is afiixe'd 'a clamp having faces adapted to bear on the lower rim of the violin bodyand fingers adapted .to yieldingly grip the sidewall of the violin body. vEach 'of'said clamps 4 and 5 respectively, is formed of a single piece of .wire made of elastic metal such as steel or an aluminum alloy, folded to form .the following sections: an eyelet 6' through which is passed a rivet 7 to fix it to the plate 1, two legs :8 and 9 whichextend sideeon=side in the longitudinal axis of plate 1, astraight section 14) issuing from ".le g 9'via an upright .elbow and extending through another elbow into a section 11 and througha thirdelbow'to .an end portion 12; a coil 13 issuingfrom leg 'S'and'surrounding the section .14), without touching the "latter, is. extended by a slightly arched section14 Whichlies in a plane situated at the same distance from plate 1 'as the sectionll, and through an elbow to a'terminal section .16. The sections 11, 12 on the one hand, and 15,

16 on the other hand form elbowed structures in;planes perpendicular to that of plate. The sections'11,12.;are situated in the prolongation of .the longitudinal axis of plate 1 and the sections 15, 16 are arranged at a'certain distance from thersections 11, 12. The two clamps 4,"5 ditfer from each other solely by the length of their sections 14, i. e. by the spacing of .the elbowed structures 11, 12 and 15, 116. Said spacing is somewhat smaller for the clamp fixed to the larger plate-end. The sections 11 and 15 present surfacesbearing on the lower rim of the violin body 17 andfor such purpose areprovided with rubber sleeves 18 which extend closeto the elbowsiformed between the portions 11, .12 .and 15, 16 respectively. Thin rubber'sleeves 1'9.-are mounted on the parts 12,116

right up against the'last-mentioned elbows and form faces adapted to rest constantly on the outside face of the lower rim 20 of the violin body 17. The same parts 12, 16 also carry sleeves 21 which are thicker than the sleeves 19 against which they abut, and these parts 12, 16 form fingers adapted to yieldingly contact the sidewall 22 of the violin body 17 between the upper and lower rims thereof.

The above-mentioned spacing between the two elbowed structures forming portions of each of the clamps 4 and 5, is sufiiciently great so that the fingers formed by the extremities 12, 16 of the structures hold the violin body 17 on both sides of a plane AB passing through the widest portion of said body. Such disposition, it has been proved, positively prevents a movement of the shoulder rest relatively to the violin while playing the same, thus affording full liberty of action to the violinists left hand.

The juncture of each of the two clamps 4, 5 and the plate 1 comprises not only the rivet 7 but also a steel wire 23 of which the two legs pass through holes in the plate and are twisted 0n the two legs 8, 9. The rigidity of such juncture, as well as that of each structure, is sufliciently great so that during the elastic bending of plate 1 and pad 2 produced by the reaction of the violinists shoulder, the angular movement of the plate-ends owing to such bending, is entirely transmitted to the fingers so that the latter are disengaged from the sidewall 22 of the violin body, Whilst the bearing faces, i. e. the sleeves 19, remain in contact with the lower rim of the violin body. This is shown in Fig. 3 and has for effect that the vibrations of the sidewall 22 are not attenuated during the playing of the violin when the latter is held between the violinists chin and shoulder.

The shoulder rest may be readily attached to and detached from the violin by sliding it either along the longitudinal axis of the violin or at right angles to the drawing plane of Fig. 1, the plate 1 then being slightly bent similarly as when held by the players shoulder.

The second form of my present invention, shown in Figs. 4 to 6, only differs from the first form just described in that the clamps 31 and 32, corresponding to the former clamps 4 and 5, are made of stamped sheet metal such as steel or hard aluminum alloy. Here again, pairs of elastic structures are provided at the two ends of the plate 33 and carry the rubber sleeves 34 to 36 which correspond to the sleeves 18 to 21 and form the supporting and the bearing faces and the holding fingers. The spacing between the fingers of each pair of structures is the same as that between the fingers of the first form of invention.

Each of the two clamps 31, 32 is rigidly yet yieldingly secured to the plate 33 by means of two screws 37 which are passed through oblong holes 38 in the portions 39 of said clamps before attaching the pad 2 by means of the screws 3. Such kind of connection allows a certain adjustment of the elements 31, 32 in the longitudinal direction of the plate. The rigidity of such connection and of the two clamps is, however, sufficient for transmitting the entire angular movement of the plate ends, which is produced through bending of the plate by the reaction of the violinists shoulder, to the fingers which thus are disengaged from the sidewall 22 of the violin body 17, with the effect explained above.

The two forms of my invention may be modified in various ways. The said structures for example could be made of one piece and integral with the plate. Those portions of the said structures of the first form of invention which are provided with rubber sleeves, could be flattened and have a form similar to that of the corresponding portions of the second form of invention.

I claim:

1. In a shoulder rest for violins comprising a relatively stiff yet flexible plate to each of the opposite ends of which is secured a clamp having bearing faces to engage the lower rim of the violin body and disposed at a certain distance from said plate, and having fingers to yieldingly engage the sidewall of the violin body between the lower and upper rims thereof, each clamp comprising a first and a second resilient structure each having two sections providing one of said faces and one of said fingers, respectively, and extending in a plane perpendicular to that of the plate, the improvement defined by the fact that those of said sections which belong to said first resilient structure, of each clamp, are situated substantially in the prolongation of the longitudinal axis of the plate, while those of said sections which belong to the second structure, of each clamp, are disposed at a sufficiently large spacing transversely of the longitudinal axis of the plate from those of the first one so that the fingers formed by some of said sections engage the violin body on both sides of a plane passing transversely through the widest portions of said body.

2. The shoulder rest as set out in claim 1, in which each of said sections providing a finger presents, at its right-angled transition into the adjacent section, a face adapted to bear constantly on the outer side of the lower rim of the violin body and in which the stifiness of each resilient structure and of the connection of this structure to the plate is sufficiently great so that during the elastic flexure of the latter, produced by the reaction of the violinists shoulder, the entire angular movement of the plate ends is transmitted to said fingers so that the latter are disengaged from the violin body, while the said bearing faces remain engaged to the lower rim of the violin body.

3. The shoulder rest as set out in claim 2, in which the two structures belonging to one clamp are formed by a single metal stem which is bent into the required form.

4. The shoulder rest as set out in claim 3, in which that portion of each stem which forms the structure with the finger situated at a distance from the longitudinal axis of the plate comprises a portion coiled about a straight section belonging to the other structure formed by the same stem and standing at right angles to the plane of the plate, such coiled section not contacting the said straight section.

5. The shoulder rest as set out in claim 2, in which each pair of structures is made of a single strip of resilient sheet metal.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,296,414 McLay Mar. 4, 1919 1,296,831 Meier Mar. 11, 1919 2,522,944 Goldberger Sept. 19, 1950 2,575,569 Ungh Nov. 20, 1951 

